Chapter 22
They all look around the entrance of the underwater base but there was no sign of resistance or any robots in site.
"Think he knows we're here?" Blaze said,
"I'm counting on it," Shadow said heading towards a nearby door as they follow after her keeping an eye out,
"Please be careful Sally!" Cream called out,
"You too!" She said as she closes the submarine door. It was now just the five of them. They quietly make their way up a staircase not knowing what to expect. The stairs came to an end with a large steel door in front of them, they all look at one another about to discuss their plan of attack as Shadow breaks the door down taking them by surprise.
"There goes our element of surprise…" Tails said,
"He already knew we were here…" Blaze said as they enter the room to see it full of Swatbots.
"Oh ho, ho!" They hear Eggman laugh as a picture of him shows up on a large monitor on the wall facing them, "Welcome to my lab, Freedom Fighters." He said, Knuckles hands begin to shake, this was no longer the professor he knew.
"Where's Sonic?" Shadow didn't hesitate to ask; they could all feel the anger and impatience coming from her.
"Now, now Shadow don't be too hasty. You have to hear how the game goes before we get to the prize." He said with a grin,
"What do you mean game?" Tails asked,
"I'm going to give you a chance to save your precious friend, but there's a catch." He said as five screens light up showing different pictures of Saya, "Only one of them is the real Saya, Each Saya is on a different floor, at the very end of the hall. If you can get to the real one before time runs out. I won't retaliate. But if you don't… you all die." He said with a sickening smile.
"He's insane…" Blaze said,
"You have one hour to find her." He said as the Swatbots move out of their way to show five different paths.
"Blaze, you stay with Cream, I can take two levels," Shadow said as they nod.
"On your marks, Ready. Set. GO!" He yelled as the screen turns to a timer as they all run for a pathway. Knuckles takes the far-right path as Cream and Blaze take the one next to him as Tails takes the path next to them while Shadow takes the far-left path. They all run as fast as they can. Shadow takes out all of the Swatbots in her path as she quickly gets to the end of the hall. She enters a mor open room and sees Saya lying on the ground in the middle.
"Saya!" She calls out as she runs over and kneels next to her, "Hey, are you okay?" She grabbed her shoulder as she could feel it instantly. The shoulder she touched was made of metal. She jumps back as the robot in front of her that looked like her friend changed into a robot. "Should have known it wouldn't be that easy." The robot was faster than she was expecting as she fights back, "Be careful everyone," She said through the headset. "The fake Saya's are robots and they are not playing around." The robot shoots lasers from Its eyes as she dodges.
"Understood," Blaze said as they continue forward fighting their way through, Tails flew past most of the bots trying to get to the end quickly. Knuckles quickly rushed up the stairs to his path. Shadow continued fighting the bot but quickly got impatient. She creates a Chaos spear and strikes the bot in the head causing it to explode. She quickly runs back to head down the next corridor. Tails made it to the end of her hallway as she sees Saya sitting against the wall.
"Saya!" She runs over, "Oh please be you…" She said as she got close quickly realizing it wasn't her. The bot stands up and charges at her. She ducks out of the way and flies back, "Mine's a fake too…" She said over the headset. The robot jumps up and grabs her by the foot throwing her to the ground. "It might take me a bit to finish this thing off…" She said,
"I'm almost to the end of my second hallway, if that's a fake I'll finish it off quickly and come help you." Shadow said, "Just hold on till I get there,"
"I can manage that." She said punching the robot and flying up into the air. Knuckles began to have the realization that Saya has a Chaos Emerald on her. He should be able to locate her just like he can find the Master Emerald pieces. He closes his eyes and focuses on Chaos energy. If Saya was trapped, she wouldn't be moving. He could feel the two emeralds moving beneath him, he figured that was Blaze and Cream. He starts to sense a faint presence coming from above him. It shouldn't be a surprise that Eggman was cheating, hiding Saya on the floor above. But how was he going to get up there? He didn't see a staircase leading up higher. His only option was to break through. He jumps as high as he can and bursts through the ceiling.
"Ours is a fake also…" Blaze said as they begin fighting the fake Saya. It's arms extend making flying difficult for Cream as they work together to keep it at bay. Blaze tries to hit it with her flames, but it quickly dodges out of the way.
"Knuckles, what about you?" Tails asked as she bounces off the robot as it throws her across the room,
"I took a shortcut." He said climbing up the hole he just made. He could feel the Chaos Emerald was near. continuing down the hallway he sees two Swatbots guarding a door. He runs at them head on taking them out with two swings. Knuckles thinks to himself that Eggman's going to need to find sturdier metal to match up against him. He rips the doors off the hinges to find a lab.
"Tails, I just finished off the second fake. I'm heading towards you." Shadow said as she kicks the scraps of metal out of her way, she knew she couldn't risk using Chaos blast again without risking losing more time off her transformation.
Knuckles looks around to see in the center of the room was a metal table and lying on that table restrained was Saya unconscious. He runs over and checks her pulse. It seemed normal, as he checked her over noticing the splint on her leg. He rips all of the restrains off then looks at her leg more closely… It was broken. How could Professor Ivo do this? But he had to remind himself that this was Dr. Eggman's doing. He snaps out of it and goes to try and wake her.
"Saya, hey, you gotta wake up." He said shaking her lightly, but there was no response. "Man I don't want to do this, but we don't have time…" he said going back over to her leg. He places his mitt on her broken leg and starts pressing down.
"Ow!" Saya cries out as she quickly sits up to grab her leg but starts to lean and catches herself "Oh… my head…"
"You okay?" Knuckles asked as she looks up at him confused. She looks around for a moment then back at Knuckles,
"Who are you?" She asked, as it just occurred to him that she has no idea who he is.
"Really? You can't recognize me?" He said as she slowly turns and hangs her legs off the table. She looks him up and down as she lets out a loud gasp,
"Knuckles?"
"In the flesh," He said as she steps down off the table on her good leg and holding onto the edge of it for balance, "Your leg…"
"Yeah, Egghead broke it after my first attempt at escape. Not my proudest moment." She chuckles, "Unfortunately since my Chaos Emerald has little energy, I'm not healing as fast."
"Hold out your Chaos Emerald." He said as she pauses for a moment, but does as he says, "I'll give you some of my Chaos energy to speed up the process." He said holding his Chaos Emerald above hers as he chants, and a small bit of energy leaves his emerald and enters hers.
"Mondo cool!" She said, "Oh, I'm Saya by the way."
"The robots that were in the main room are coming down the halls, be careful," Shadow says on the headset,
"Anytime you get here would be great." Tails said kicking the robot away from her.
"Let's skip the formalities until we get you out of here." He said stepping closer to her, "You'll have to excuse me," he picks her up holding her in both arms. "But this is the fastest way we can get to the others." He walks them out of the room.
"Wow Knux, I think you should buy me dinner before you sweep me off my feet." She grinned,
"This is no time for jokes," He said,
"It is always time for jokes." She pouts, "But jokes aside, thanks for the rescue." She give a thumbs up.
"No problem," He said as he leans his head a bit and speaks into the headset, "I've got Saya,"
"She was down your hall?" Tails asked sounding surprised,
"Nope, this was all a setup, she was on the floor above me," he said,
"That Cheating little!" Shadow began to say but calmed herself, "I'm almost to Tails, Once I meet up with her, we'll meet you in that first room,"
"There's a problem, Saya's leg is broken. I can't carry her and fight at the same time." He said,
"Hey! You don't have to protect me! I can take care of myself." Saya argued,
"You can't even walk," He argued back,
"Blaze and I are almost back to the main room, we'll head up to your level and give you a hand," Cream said as she nods at Blaze and they run ahead.
"Thanks' I'll take it slow then," He said as he looks at Saya who was giving him a sour look. "Oh, you're fine!" He rolled his eyes,
"You didn't have to tell them," She said,
"Yeah, I could get you there without any problems, but Eggman might have something else up his sleeve." He said,
"But now they'll be worried, and could get distracted," She said looking away, Knuckles thought she was upset because he hurt her pride. But she knew that the thought of her being injured could make the others lose sight of what they were doing.
"They can handle themselves, for now let's get to them before Eggman can retaliate," He said as she nods with a smile. He jumps down to the lower level where there were Swatbots waiting.
"I think you spoke too soon…" Saya said as she wraps her arms around Knuckles' neck and gives him a look to go ahead. He lets go as she hung from his neck curling her legs up and hooking her broken leg over her other one. He attacks as Saya moves accordingly as if they were in sync, it took him off guard that she knew how to move with him so well after just meeting.
"You okay?" He asked catching his breath after he finished the last Swatbot.
"Yeah," She said as he lifts her up again, "Maybe, let's not do that again," she said looking dizzy,
"You do spin attacks and that made you dizzy?" He joked,
"Now who's making jokes,"
"Knuckles!" Blaze calls out as they see her, and Cream run up to them. They both look at Saya Short of breath but trying to hold back tears.
"We reached Knuckles and Saya," Cream said over the headset trying to stay focused.
"Good, Tails and I just finished this bot, we'll meet up with you shortly." Shadow said,
"Hey," Saya said awkwardly with a smile,
"Hi Saya," Cream said as Blaze just smiles,
"I don't want to break up this happy reunion, but I need to take some of the energy from both of your Chaos Emeralds so Saya's let can heal faster." Knuckles explained,
"Sounds good." Blaze said as he lets Saya stand leaning against him as all three of them hold out their Chaos Emeralds as he begins to chant as a little bit of Chaos Energy is channeled from their Emeralds into Saya's. But doing this with two Chaos Emeralds at once was more of a struggle than Knuckles realized, and it caused a strain on his body.
"Hey, you okay?" Saya asked noticing he was struggling.
"I'm fine, how's your leg feeling?" He asked as she leans down placing her hand on her leg and winces.
"It still hurts, but I feel like it's healing. Forgot how crazy Chaos Energy is." She chuckles.
"Hopefully by the time we get to the others you'll be completely healed." Cream said,
"I'll still want to take some energy from Tails and Shadows Chaos Emeralds. That way she can transform just in case it doesn't heal all the way." He said,
"True, especially since there's no way Eggman is letting us leave here without a fight," Blaze said,
"We'll definitely give 'em a fight!" Saya said confidently, "Now let's get out of here." They all nod as Knuckles picks her up again and they head back to the main room. Tails and Shadow head back towards the first room as quickly as they can as more Swatbots get in their way. But they take them down working together and continue forward.
"How are you holding up?" Shadow asked Tails,
"Little banged up but nothing too bad, I should be asking you that," Tails said, she could tell that Shadow was starting to reach her limit.
"I'll be okay," She said with confidence,
"Just don't overdo it, we're almost there." Tails said,
"I won't," Shadow said, They continue towards the main room. The lights from the room blinded them for a moment before they entered. They beat the others there and all of the Swatbots left down the hallways earlier leaving the room wide open. "Looks like we got here first," They both looked at the hallway Knuckles went down earlier. Tails began to pace as they waited impatiently for them. Both of them fought the urge to go down the hallway to meet up with them. Just as they were losing their patience, Blaze and Cream exit the hallway with Knuckles right behind them holding Saya in his arms. They both didn't know how to react to seeing her after so long as they run up to them.
"You can put me down Knux, I think my legs strong enough to walk." Saya said,
"Alright, but if it hurts just lean on me for support." He said setting her down.
"Aren't you the hero!" She teased,
"Will you cut that out already," He said trying not to get flustered,
"Aw! But it's fun." She said with a smile. Shadow walked over next to Saya. She clenched her fist then hits Saya in the back of the head, "Ow! What'd you do that for?" She said rubbing the back of her head and looking at Shadow with a pout.
"That's for being stupid and getting yourself captured." She said then placing her hand on Saya shoulder. "But I'm glad you're okay," She lightly smiles,
"You guys have great timing, any later and I'd probably be a dissected lab rat." She shivers as she looks at Tails who hasn't moved since Saya entered the room. Saya walks over to her with Knuckles' help until she's standing right in front of her. Tails could no longer make eye contact with her; she tried to fight the tears and didn't want Saya to see her cry. Saya places her hand on Tails' head.
"It's okay buddy, I'm not going anywhere." She said as Tails couldn't hold the tears back anymore as she quickly hugs her, she's taken off guard and they both fall to the ground.
"Are you alright?" Cream asked as Saya wraps her arms around Tails,
"We're fine, she just needs a minute." Saya said as Tails continues to cry for a moment then calms down. She lets go of Saya and sits back,
"Sorry," She said wiping the tears away from her eyes. Saya shakes her head,
"I should be the one saying sorry. You all must have been so worried." She said as Knuckles kneels next to them and looks at Shadow.
"Come here so I can give some of your Chaos energy to Saya. It should be enough to fully heal her leg and be able to transform." He said as Shadow kneels next to him, and she and Tails hold out their Chaos Emeralds above Saya's. The light fades as Knuckles starts to look winded.
"You shouldn't push yourself." Blaze said walking over to Knuckles.
"I'm fine, just give me a minute." He said catching his breath, the amount of mental concentration it takes to do that multiple times was starting to take it's tole. Saya grabs the bandages on her leg and takes them off, the splint dropping to the floor. Shadow and Tails stand up and hold out their hands as Saya grasps them and they pull her back up to her feet.
"Oh man!" Saya said with a bright smile, moving her legs and bounces from one leg to the other. "You have no idea how good it feels to walk on both feet again," She stretches,
"Too bad that won't be for very long." They all hear Eggman laugh as they instinctually circle Saya in a defensive position. A large robot lands in front of them the ground shaking as it slams into it. It stood between them and the path to the submarine. The head of the robot opens up revealing Eggman inside. "I'll kill you before you can escape."
"Our first priority is getting Saya out of here." Shadow said, as Saya puts her hand on Shadow and Tails' shoulders and pushes through them,
"Saya?" Tails said as she stands in front of them looking at Eggman ready to fight. She turns back towards all of her friends and gives them all a thumbs up and a smile,
"Don't worry guys! Let's show Egghead who he's messing with!" she said turning back towards Eggman, "The seven servers are the seven Chaos, Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart, the heart is the controller, the controller serves to unify the Chaos..." she stops for a second, something felt off to her but she still continued "Chaos… Control." She's enveloped by a blue light. But something was off, most of them have seen Saya transform multiple times and none of them remember the blue light being that dark of a shade. The light fades as Sonic's back is facing the group and she doesn't move.
"Ahahahaha!" Eggman began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Shadow asked as Tails felt a horrifying chill down her spine. Knuckles could feel the change in energy within the room it felt similar to Chaos energy however… something was off, he looked around trying to trace its origins.
"It worked, it actually worked!" Eggman cheered,
"What are you talking about?" Blaze asked as he continues to laugh, "Answer me!" She yelled as he stops laughing.
"Those bracelets around the Chaos Emeralds protect you all. Meaning I was unable to destroy Sonic, yet again. So I devised a new plan." He said as he holds something up. As Knuckles traces the energy coming from the thing in his hand,
"It can't be!" Knuckles said with fear, "How… How do you have a Chaos Emerald?" They all look surprised looking back at the Black emerald glowing with a purple hue.
"This isn't a Chaos Emerald." Eggman said as everyone was focused on Eggman, Tails looks back at Sonic who was still just standing there, "This is a Dark Chaos Emerald, the first of its kind!"
"Dark Chaos Emerald?" Cream said,
"What does this have to do with anything?" Shadow said,
"Be patient Shadow, I'm getting there." Eggman said as Knuckles also notices Sonic not moving. "I used the Dark Chaos Energy into a machine that created hypnotic suggestion." Knuckles walks up to Sonic, "And Placed it in Saya's Chaos Emerald!"
"Knuckles don't!" Tails tried to warn him, but it was too late, before any of them could react Sonic had turned around and was holding Knuckles by the neck,
"So…nic…" Knuckles tried to say, they all stood there in shock at what was transpiring. She opened her eyes, her eyes which should be an emerald green were now a bright glowing red as she looks at all of them with a frighteningly evil smile.
"Saya is gone, she is now Dark Sonic!"